You throw the ball. You catch the ball. You hit the ball…Of course, baseball fans know that this line from Bull Durham is far from true, part of the humor of the movie and a huge part of the fun of the game. This blog is a space to talk about baseball, being a baseball fan, all of those things that make the game fun and the Angels, because they make baseball fun for me.

Rumors, Bloody Rumors + Giants/Dodgers Family
Hijinks

The Rangers signed Beltre, except for the fact that they didn’t. That was totally a rumor. No wait, new rumors from more credible sources say that it’s the second rumor that was only a rumor. Beltre is signing on the Rangers’ dotted line right now. But wait, no. The people who are responsible for the rumor that the rumor about the first rumor being only a rumor was really just a rumor too, are now also guilty of spreading a rumor. Moose bites hurt. A lot. And now for something completely different…

This is the Hot Stove news I read on my Blackberry as we left a family holiday party this evening. And, yes, because I came in on the tail end of all of the rumor and counter rumor, to me it really did sound that Python-esque. The final word on all of the rumors? According to MLB.com, the Rangers do not have a deal with Beltre, nor is a deal imminent. The article goes on to quote Nolan Ryan this evening saying “As of right now, Michael Young is our third baseman. We haven’t done anything.” While I tend to think that, with Young’s bat and glove at third base, the Rangers wouldn’t really be interested in Beltre at this price, I did notice that Ryan’s no isn’t exactly a long term no and it’s not like the Rangers haven’t asked Young to switch positions for someone else before. I believe that MLB.com’s article is the final word on Beltre and the Rangers today but Monday? Tuesday? Wednesday? Next week? Who knows.

* * * * *

The family holiday party this evening was our annual post Christmas get together with my mother’s side of the family. The Giants cousins come down from Merced and Fresno and the Dodgers cousins come from all over L.A. and Orange County and then there are my husband and I. Surprisingly, baseball is not usually a big topic of conversation. This year, of course, it was not to be avoided.

I was pleased to see one cousin from Merced whom I have not seen in about two years because he’s been very ill. He’s recently recovered almost completely. “Oh I’m feeling so much better and it’s the strangest thing. Do you know what the turning point was? Game 6!” I had to laugh and congratulate him, of course. And that was pretty much the tone for the evening. My cousins are still so ecstatic and cute over the Giants win that I can’t help but be happy for them all over again. Of course, they’re still a little chip on their shoulders over the Giants’ champion status. Mentions of the Angels or 2002 still bring about hissing – yes, literal hissing – and a chorus of too soon, too soon. They’re a little sensitive about the Dodgers rivalry too, all of which kept me in stitches for large portions of the evening.

My dad picked up on this, I think, because during a discussion about baseball announcers, he pounced. One cousin mentioned that he likes the Giants radio announcers so much, he will gladly put up with the delay in order to hear the radio broadcast while he watches the game muted on TV. My father got this mischievous twinkle in eye and said that, over the years, he’s done the same thing with Vin Scully’s broadcasts…after the Dodgers beat the Giants and head into the post season. My cousin started to sputter angrily about the Dodgers bad season and how he expects the same from them next year and so on, until he realized everyone else was cracking up on both sides of the fan divide, including my father. Then the conversation became playful and teasing again. You simply can’t let family get your goat that easily.

I may have been laughing the loudest of anyone. I don’t think I have ever seen my father talk trash before. But he and my mother were high school sweethearts so he has known all of these cousins, her cousins, since they were in high school and, in some cases, much, much younger. I think I just got a tiny glimpse of what they were all like getting together as kids and that was neat to see. Family and baseball both have the power to take even the most grown up among us back to the carefree silliness of our childhood and thank Heaven for that!

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8 Comments

I still say he’s going to the halos. But I think the rumors are coming from whether or not the Rangers are signing Vlad or not. I had seen a report that Vlad may end up back with the Angels. Either way would be good for either team in my opinion. It’s just a matter of who wants who more.
But I think that Beltre would fit into the Angels Line-up better.

Hot Tub Baseball Machine – I think you’re right that decisions about Vlad play a part in this. The Rangers certainly aren’t going to want him if they sign Beltre, but unless they’re going to move Michael Young to DH, which seems a shame given his glove, I can’t think why they wouldn’t prefer Vlad, who’s cheaper anyway. But I am not a GM so what seems logical to me may or may not actually be logical. And the rumor mill continues to see saw today, so who knows? The least discussed team seems to be the winner this post season, so maybe all this Rangers talk will be lucky for the Angels. LOL.
Russel – My family isn’t usually one for trash talkin’ either, which is what made this so funny. But there are a lot of baseball fans in the immediate and in the extended family, on my Dad’s side too, which is a lot of fun, even with the rival fan bases. It’s great that you’re bringing your daughters up as baseball fans. They’ll have the extended family baseball fun for sure when they are old enough to start their own families.
– Kristenhttp://blithescribe.mlblogs.com/

Sounds like quite a family gathering! I would have laughed too if I’d witnessed my parents getting into it with the relatives about baseball. Very endearing. As for the rumors, they just seem to be a way for reporters to occupy themselves right now.

Jane – It was definitely endearing as well as funny. And I do imagine that the reporters are harder up for stuff to write about than even the bloggers, or at least this blogger, but their solution is both maddening and unintentionally hilarious.
– Kristenhttp://blithescribe.mlblogs.com/

Love it when families can war around a sport with a very lighthearted outlook. It’s got to be fun toake it enjoyable.
The rumor mill keeps the reporters jockeying for the spotlight even when there’s no spotlight.

Kristen,
I know you were not on MLBlogs.com back when nthe Scott Kazmir trade went down, but 3 times the rumor was posted via Twitter or a news posts on websites, then Poof! Somehow they disappeared once the rumor seemed to have a frigle bottom to it.
Some times teams tease a player to get hi away from another suitor then pack it up and the predictors are left with egg on their faces.
Until the faxed contract is on its way to the MLB Office in NYC, I never beleive a rumor now… Of course seeing the player come out of the stadium tunnel at Tropicana Field for a tryout can jolt me into a bit of giddiness.

MLB Critic – Thanks for dropping by my blog and commenting. It is fun and mostly light hearted around my family, provided the Dodgers and Giants “kids” stay off one another’s FaceBook when those two team face off, LOL. I completely get what you’re saying about reporters sometimes creating news where there isn’t any, but I had a feeling this time there was news and, well, I wish you had been right.
Rays Renegade – You’re right, I wasn’t even lurking on MLBlogs yet during the Kazmir trade, but that had to be fascinating. Who did you see just walk in and try out at Tropicana? I hope that one’s a story for your blog soon. There is definitely an art and sometimes just plain job security considerations to the press publishing rumors within rumors. A beat reporter who runs out of stories to print is likely to need to find another beat soon, I would think. I had a feeling there was more to this one than just rumor though. Nolan Ryan’s statements were just too carefully worded and the Angels have been striking out looking all off season.
– Kristenhttp://blithescribe.mlblogs.com/

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